"We had a couple of witnesses who passed on license numbers," said Capt. Jim Richardson, commander of investigations. "They didn't match, but they were close, and by working with the different numbers, we were able to locate the van in the driveway of the owner's home."

Richardson said the juvenile's parents answered the door and roused him from bed. The boy admitted to the hoax and named his cohorts.

"We learned the kidnapping was just a big joke, a hoax they had set up ahead of time," Richardson said.

A second juvenile told a parent of his involvement Tuesday morning after reading an account of the abduction in the Daily Press.

A few hours later, Richardson said, that juvenile and a friend showed up at the Sheriff's Office.

"The boy came and asked to speak to officers about the hoax at Wal-Mart."

Investigators were on their way to interview the two remaining suspects Tuesday afternoon.

Because all five of the pranksters are juveniles, 16 and 17, sheriff's officials wouldn't release their names. Richardson said all five live in York County.

Although no charges had been filed against any of the teens late Tuesday afternoon, Richardson said that could change.

Possible charges include wearing a mask in public and disorderly conduct for causing a public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, Richardson said.

Richardson said he hadn't seen the movie that the teens based their prank on.

The film, released last fall, is about three guys who try to relive their younger years by moving into a large house near their old campus. They form an unofficial fraternity where students can enjoy all the fun of fraternity life without the rules of the university.

One of the scenes involves the fraternity founders kidnapping potential pledges.

Brian Richards, who manages the Tabb Wal-Mart on Route 17 and Victory Boulevard, said he saw the DVD version of the film a couple of months ago but didn't relate Monday night's incident to a scene in the movie until another employee raised the possibility later.

"While we considered the possibility this was a prank, we treated the incident as if it were real. No one wants to dismiss something that appears serious as a hoax when there are lives at stake," Richardson said.

"When we learned it was not real, there was enormous relief."

Staff writer Kimball Payne contributed to this report.

David Chernicky can be reached at 247-4743 or by e-mail at dchernicky@dailypress.com